January 2012: The 13th issue of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Center for the Wider Caribbean’s (RAC/REMPEITC) quarterly newsletter, “Caribe,” highlights three workshops held in the region to help countries meet their obligations under International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions regarding ballast water management (BWM) and oil spill preparedness and response.

A workshop held 14-15 November 2011, in Kingston, Jamaica, sponsored by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), IMO, UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), provided practical knowledge on compliance, monitoring and enforcement (CME) matters related to implementation of the IMO’s BWM Convention, with a focus on improving the skills of the Port and Flag State authorities attending from 23 countries.

Another workshop, funded by IMO and held 7-9 December 2011, in Nassau, Bahamas, sought to help Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico identify needs regarding the legal, policy and institutional frameworks regarding pollution prevention, preparedness and response aspects related to offshore oil installations.

The third workshop, held 16-19 November 2011, in Oranjestad, Aruba, and funded by UNDP’s Regional Reduction Initiative (R3i), helped Aruba update its 1994 National Oil Spill Contingency Plan.

RAC/REMPEITC was created in 1995 by IMO and UNEP’s Caribbean Regional Coordinating Center (CAR/RCU) to assist countries of the Wider Caribbean in developing their national capabilities to implement the Cartagena Convention Oil Spill Protocol, the IMO’s 1990 International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response, and Cooperation (OPRC) and other IMO Conventions and Protocols relevant to preparedness for and response to oil, hazardous and noxious substances releases, and other marine environmental threats from ships in the Wider Caribbean Region.

The Center serves Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela, as well as British, Dutch, French and US territories in the Caribbean. [Publication: Caribe, No. 13]